Tiger 1050 Headlight Upgrade

Hi,I really don't know how they passed type approval because they are not fit for purpose and downright dangerous,been going down roads ive ridden for decades so know them well but with these candles nearly end up binning it,since i last had this model there are now slimline HID kits that will do the job and actually you will then have a "beam" instead of something that's struggling to reach the end of the mudguard,or there are now LED bulbs but don't know if either of these will melt the plastic headlight.The only real cure is to fit the whole assembly from a MK2/MK3 these are so much better and fit straight in but are £350+ new and they are really rare secondhand,these are what i am waiting for.If you go the HID route[about £45 per kit] you will need 2 if you want to do both beams as 1 has a H7 the other a H9.

 

Those projector headlights triumph fitted to the tiger and sprint were crap. Design over function. Problem is the light pattern is rubbish. It's still rubbish if you put brighter bulbs in. Better but still crap.

A lot of guys fitted the lights from the later model when it arrived as Gazwhitespeed says. Expensive option though.

Until then the best option was driving lamps. I put a hid in the low beam side. I changed the h9 fitting to an h7 in the high beam side and fitted a better bulb. Decent h9 bulbs were non existent. Why triumph used them was a mystery. Didn't want a hid for a high beam cos back then, 2009, the hids weren't instantaneous in firing up.

My best improvement was fitting some Cree spots on a light bar under the nose cone. Had them defaulting to 1600 watts on standard setting. When I hit the high beam I had the full 3000 watts come to play. Turned night into day. The main supplier/player back then was a guy on fleabay called Komy.

 

Tiger 1050 lamps are not much better than useless, just like Sprint ST 1050. Fitted HID's to the Sprint much to the annoyance of the rest of the driving public. They were great but for the abuse you get given!! On the Tiger I added Givi Trekker spot lamps which were also very good but I wired them in to the main beam (not on dipped). The set-up on the Tiger 800 with H4 bulbs is a huge improvement but not much you can do cheaply/effectively to the 1050!!

 

How did you manage it @Gazwhitespeed ?
I've got a 2007 and I've just tried to fit the MK2/MK3 unit(s). The MK1 unit is one unit and one 4 pin connector. The MK2/3 units are seprate L+R, so 2 connectors. Did you splice them together, or is a connector available?
Then there's the cockpit not fitting back on because of the pieces that stick out underneath on the MK2/3 units...

 

Like i said in my previous post mate,i am still waiting for a secondhand one to turn up,loads of owners when they had a mk1 did it on the dedicated 1050 only forum,pop over there for more info,TIGER SPORT 1050 FORUM.Sadly now this is one of the reasons i am selling mine,i have 2 bikes,i ride all year round and both of them have piss poor headlights,so with the big service looming on the tiger and it's lights i will be selling it as soon as my compo arrives.

 

Sad news...!

Thanks for the steer- I found a full tutorial on the Sport 1050 forum. For anyone else who wants it, follow this link...

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4gnozoR5YEKYlZndjBCanRXUHM

 

Just be careful with HID or LED conversion as I believe it is now an MOT check - think they could fail you if non OE lights or no CE marks.

 

Geez ! Where I live in California [US] has a bad reputation for being a "Nanny State". We have nothing that stringent here. No MOT, no smog.check, no inspections of any kind. Your MOT guys REALLY would not like some of my mods . ...J.D.

 

Wow - that's surprising. Yes, we love a bit of regulation here in the UK. Although, to be fair, it does keep some cr@p vehicles off the road.

 

I changed mine to HIDs with a kit from Retro Fit Labs. The difference is incredible and it went through the MOT with no issues. The hardest part is splitting the headlamp unit but once you have done that and decided where to put everything its relatively easy.

 

That could be a problem. You might get stopped and get a "fix it" ticket here, but they really do not bother you unless it gets ridiculous. Only thing if you get stopped here, you better have your reg. and insurance papers and the proper motorcycle endorsement on your license. All of mine are modified a bit, but they are in safe and sound condition. ...J.D.

 

Just for future reference - from gov.uk website on motorbike MOT testing. As I said, I think this was a new addition to motorbike MOTs. Although, interestingly, doesn't mention LEDs....

 

Hi, just saw your post yesterday evening - is your Tiger still passing the MOT with t Cheers!he Retrofit lights? I am literally halfway through splitting the unit on my 2011 Tiger to do exactly the same when a couple of my friends started messaging about failing their MOTs because of LED bulbs - now I don’t know whether to stick it back together and risk life and limb whenever the sun goes down...

 

As I mentioned above, the issue with the MOT seems to be HIDs, not LEDs. The problem with LEDs is, I think, that the beam is not as focused as a halogen. The reflector in your headlamp will be designed for a halogen, not an LED, so I suspect the spread is all over the place. LEDs are not as good as a decent halogen in a situation where a halogen was original fitment. I did replace my sidelights with more powerful LED ones, and they give a little more light at the edge of the road. However, if you want more illumination, add auxiliary lights.

 

MOT inspection manual: motorcycles
Page summary:
Inspection processes and rules for motorcycle, scooter, moped and motorcycle combination (class 1 and 2 vehicle) MOT tests.

Change made:
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment – 4.1.4 Headlamps – Compliance with requirements – Sentence changed from ‘Some motorcycles may be fitted with high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps. Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with HID bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp.’ to ‘Some motorcycles may be fitted with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) headlamps. Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with HID or LED bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp

 

thanks crispey - couldn't be clearer than that!

 

Mine passed the MOT with no issues last month. However since I bought the Retrofit Labs kit the reflectors are designed for HID bulbs. In any case it looks OE once fitted even with the cables coming out of the light covers.